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On the morning of April 28, a fire broke out at the Historic Clayborn Temple in Memphis, Tennessee, causing significant damage. While the cause is still unknown, the fire devastated the building, a landmark with significant ties to the Civil Rights Movement.

Following the deaths of sanitation workers Echol Cole and Robert Walker in February 1968 —a consequence of low pay, no benefits, and horrible working conditions—over 1300 Black sanitation workers went on strike, gathering at the Clayborn Temple which served as a starting place for marches, a meeting point for strategy sessions, and where the Temple’s pastor printed the “I Am A Man” signs.

On April 3, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. arrived in Memphis to support the Sanitation Worker’s Strike and was assassinated the next day at the Lorraine Motel. Just four days later Coretta Scott King led over 40,000 people in the march that resulting in an agreement with the City Council. It was at Clayborn Temple that the sanitation workers gathered to hear the terms.

Brent Leggs, executive director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund and senior vice president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation said, “This fire is a tragedy, and our hearts and minds are with the greater Memphis community. Clayborn Temple is an irreplicable bastion of American history, and its physical structure must be preserved. The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund has an emergency rapid-response grants program to provide immediate support for historically Black churches. We will work with our partners and leadership at Clayborn Temple to find a way forward.”

Since launching the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund in 2017, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has been working with the nonprofit Historic Clayborn Temple to transform this sacred space as a venue of arts, culture and community.

The National Park Service has awarded a $20,000 grant to the National Trust for Historic Preservation to develop an exhibit designed to tell the story of Clayborn Temple’s role in the 1968 sanitation workers’ strike in Memphis.

The National Trust designated Clayborn Temple as a National Treasure in October 2018 and is working with local leaders of Clayborn Reborn to plan for the restoration of the historic church and to determine its future uses.

Funded through the African American Civil Rights Grant Program, the project will include creation of a traveling exhibit and supplementary guidebook as well as a website with resources to learn more about the sanitation workers’ strike.

NPS Disclaimer

Partially funded by the African American Civil Rights project of the Historic Preservation Fund, National Park Service, Department of Interior. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material do not constitute endorsement or necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Interior or U.S. Government.

Clayborn Temple's In This Place speaker series is a way to build relationships and have authentic conversations around restoration, as well as the social, racial, and economic injustice that has plagued the city of Memphis.

The final event in the series will take place on Friday, April 5, 2019, from 6:30 p.m.–9:00 p.m. at Clayborn Temple (294 Hernando Street, Memphis, Tennessee 38126).

This month, the organization welcomes Reverend Dr. James M. Lawson Jr., civil rights activist and university professor, back to Clayborn Temple to engage Memphians in a conversation about the future of Memphis. As one of the most important strategists of the 20th century, Rev. Lawson will share the stories of his work, how it applies to Memphis today, and what communities can do to ensure a bright future for all across race, class, and location.

Attendees will also engage in facilitated small group conversations about their own experiences and what they can do individually and collectively to work for an equitable Memphis.

This event is free and open to the public, but space is limited.

On Tuesday, March 12, the National Park Service (NPS) announced $12.6M in funds will be awarded to historic sites throughout the nation whose roles were pivotal to fostering the American Civil Rights movement. Funds allocated through the African American Civil Rights History Program will benefit 51 projects in 24 states, highlighting the African American struggle for equality in the 20th century.

The City of Memphis Division of Housing and Community Development is the recipient of a $500,0000 grant to support the rehabilitation of Clayborn Temple, whose role as a regional center for Civil Rights was central to the 1968 City of Memphis Sanitation Worker’s strike. The city will also receive a $50,000 grant benefiting the Memphis Heritage Trail, a project which celebrates the rich business, cultural, and musical heritage of African American achievement. In addition, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has been awarded $20,000 which will fund an exhibit designed to relay Clayborn’s story—and that of the sanitation workers’—to the public.

Congratulations to the City of Memphis and to the National Trust for these grant awards, and for their continuing dedication to fully tell the stories surrounding American Civil Rights.

This year The Root, in collaboration with Striking Voices (a multimedia journalism project centered around in-depth video interviews with Memphis sanitation workers), is sharing an 11-part series called "1,300 Men: Memphis Strike '68" to explore the complex history of the 1968 Sanitation Workers' Strike in Memphis, Tennessee. The series will features videos and text that tell the story of the brave men and women who fought for two months against inhumane working conditions in Memphis. Watch the full series here.